State Sen. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville, proposed changes to Wisconsin’s mining laws in a letter to the Senate Select Committee on Mining Thursday, hoping to reach a bipartisan position on potential mining legislation.
After months of meetings to revise details of mining legislation, the committee met Thursday to determine which provisions should be considered for the bill.
Kelley Flury, legislative assistant to Cullen, said in an email the proposal would bring more certainty to the mining permitting process.
“The changes [are] necessary to streamline the permitting process and provide certainty to a mining company while also protecting the environment,” Cullen said in the letter sent to the committee.
The new provisions, such as allowing the Department of National Resources to update standards based on new technologies and practices, would alter the Republican-backed mining bill proposed last year, which failed to pass last session due to alleged weak environmental protections.
The proposed changes include environmental considerations left out of the streamlining, which Republicans intend to reintroduce in the next legislative session.
“Senator Cullen hopes that the Republican members will move a more responsible bill forward when the Legislature reconvenes next session,” Flury said in the email.
